


Pretty Panties and the Pool Shark

by almaasi



Category: Supernatural
Genre: 2000s, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - School, Amara is Castiel's Aunt, Autistic Castiel, Bullied Castiel, Bullying, Childhood Friends, Dean in Panties, Diving, First Kiss, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Billie, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Kid Castiel, Kid Dean Winchester, Kid Fic, Lies, M/M, Overcoming Fear, Sharks, Smart Castiel, Smart Dean, Supportive Dean, Swimming, Swimming Pools, Teacher Billie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-02-08 15:11:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12867219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/almaasi/pseuds/almaasi
Summary: Castiel is beginning to understand how deceitful his fellow ten-year-olds can be. All the other boys in his swim class keep trying to convince him that there's a live shark in the pool. And now Dean's claiming that the panties in his bag belong to his sister, when Castiel knows for a fact that Dean doesn'thavea sister. Castiel is sick of being lied to. But, once Dean reveals a few truths, perhaps they can find a way to make sure the other kids' teasing comes back to bite them - so to speak.





	Pretty Panties and the Pool Shark

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is spiritual successor/maybe a sequel? to [**A Postcard for Castiel**](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4716623) (5k, with Dean and Cas in first grade).
> 
> Inspired by a joke about borrowed clothes on the show _Community_ (episode 02x17), and a theme in the movie _The Craft_ (although I had the same idea before I ever saw the movie, because "pool shark" is such an obvious, inspiring pun). And of course, a good portion of this is lifted straight from my own childhood. I've still never done a proper dive, despite hundreds of tries, nor did I ever get back at my bullies. So instead, I live vicariously through my characters. Enjoy!
> 
> P.S. ["Mx" is a gender-neutral title](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-neutral_title) (like Mr. or Miss), and is pronounced "Mix".  
> (I went for both "Mx" and "she/her" for Billie, since I imagine Billie is entirely neutral in every aspect of her character, including her name - but she/her pronouns are used canonically. Incidentally, this collection of pronouns is the same as what I'd use for myself, with the addition of "they". ♥

 

            **shark ·** (shärk)  
           1. _verb:_ (sports) to perform some act or make some utterance with the intent to   
               distract, irritate or intimidate the opponent so that they do not perform well,  
               miss a shot, etc. very common in bar pool.   
           2. _noun:_ a person who performs such an act (i.e. a pool shark).  
           3. _noun:_ (misuse) a very good player.  
           4. _???:_ (offensive) an actual literal shark in the goddamn swimming pool.

 

 

**………………** ◢ **………………**

_Seventeenth time lucky,_ Castiel thought.

Here goes...

All along the deep end of the pool, four diving blocks were set up, each with about a yard between them. They were hard plastic wedges raised on stubby metal legs, bolted down to the floor tiles.

As Castiel set his foot up on one of them – left, right – the grippy-textured surface dug into his soles. The top of the block tilted towards the shimmering turquoise pool, and the slant felt precarious.

The water seemed so far away. The extra height of the block made an alarming amount of difference.

“ _Go on, Cas!_ ” came the echoing shout from the side of the pool, where the other boys sat on the benches, their backs to the white tiles. “ _Don’t worry about the shark, you’ve got this!_ ”

Castiel gulped, fretting in place.

“Breathe, Castiel,” his teacher said from beside him. Mx Billie’s voice was slow and calming, and Castiel found himself obeying her without really noticing. “That’s it,” she soothed. “Don’t overthink it.”

Castiel’s fingers wiggled.

“ _Go fast and it won’t see you!_ ” came another boy’s shout. “ _It only eats slow swimmers!_ ”

Billie sighed. “There’s no shark, Castiel.”

“I _know_ that,” Castiel snapped, before shooting his teacher an apologetic glance. “I— I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

Mx Billie just smiled. “Take your time. Remember: normal breath in. You don’t need a gigantic gulp of air before you dive.”

Castiel lined his little toes up with the edge of the block. Even though he looked downwards, the water _loomed_.

Normal breath in. Normal breath out.

He visualised a perfect dive in his mind: hands and arms out straight, ears tucked between his biceps. Straight legs. Shouldn’t be too hard.

Seventeenth time lucky.

He placed his hands together, one over the other, ready to fall and swing them up. Slowly... slowly...

Now! Castiel tipped his weight, feeling the swoop in his belly as gravity took him. Down he went, in slow motion: arms straight, feet pushing from the block, head down—

“ _Shark!_ ”

Castiel flinched.

 _Smack!_ He hit the water knees, belly, and underarms first.

He sank by a few feet, his vision blasted with blue. His skin stung from his chest to his thighs, pulsating inside as his entire body raged against a seventeenth failure. As the warm water took his weight and allowed him to float back to the surface, Castiel breathed out a long stream of frustrated bubbles.

Lifting his head from the water, he wiped chlorinated droplets from his eyes, unsure if he wiped away tears too. The pool hall had filled with the sound of elongated jeers and cheers and laughter, and the ball of unhappiness in Castiel’s belly seemed to grow just a little bigger. He hated swim class. He _hated_ it. He didn’t even _care_ if he never got a pass mark and a merit badge for diving; he’d happily fail just so he never had to do this again.

Swimming a slow front-crawl over to the ladder, Castiel shot Mx Billie a disheartened look, seeing her give a reassuring one in response. She’d handed out so many detentions and scolded so many boys on Castiel’s behalf, but punishment didn’t seem to deter them. In fact, the teacher’s favouritism made the other kids torture him even more.

He climbed from the pool in angry steps, trailing water from his trunks, splashing it all across the bumpy floor tiles. Mx Billie tucked her clipboard against her chest, reaching out a hand to pat Castiel’s head. “You’ll get it eventually, kid.”

Castiel said nothing, just dawdled back to the benches to await his next turn. On his way there, Adrian with the blonde hair walked past, feinting towards Castiel. Their shoulders never made contact, but Castiel’s attempt to avoid Adrian sent him a step off course. He glared at Adrian’s back, hating the sound of his smug chuckle.

Dean waited at the end of the bench, hands under his bare thighs, chubby shoulders up against his ears. He gave Castiel a small smile. “Almost got it this time,” he said.

Castiel grunted, swinging to sit on top of a blue foam kickboard beside Dean.

Secretly, so nobody would notice, he scoured the water for the shark. Deep down, he knew that there was no such creature. But sometimes, when the afternoon sun poured through the pointed glass roof and touched the rippling water—? He was sure he could see a shadow...

 

**………………** ◢ **………………**

 

The ceiling of the changing room was all dark wood beams, and bunting leftover from last year’s school fête still fluttered up there, office staples rusting on the wood. There were no benches, or hooks to hang things, only terracotta tiles where the boys dumped their bags and changed before and after swim class. Castiel found his bag beside Dean’s, and soon the changing room filled with chatter, clammy wet trunks pulled off and slapped down to the tiles.

Like Dean, Castiel wrapped a towel around his waist before rolling his trunks down his legs.

“Dean! Fist bump!” Blair called, reaching out a fist for Dean to punch. Castiel watched as Dean accepted the gesture, then grinned. Even Adrian patted Dean’s back in congratulations.

Dean shot Castiel a little smile – pleased with himself, but clearly feeling sorry for Castiel.

“You did well,” Castiel assured him.

“I did awesome,” Dean said dazedly, eyebrows rising as though he couldn’t believe it was true.

“ _And_ you swam the whole length of the pool without coming up for air,” Keith said, rummaging through his bag, pulling out a t-shirt. “I’m gonna do that next week.”

Castiel turned to his own bag, looking for his plastic wristwatch. School was out for the day now, and he wondered if he’d have time to practise a few dives before heading home. Mx Billie would still be at the pool to supervise, she usually stayed late on Tuesdays. Still – he decided to get dressed first; he didn’t want anyone to know he needed extra practise.

Just as Castiel pulled his t-shirt on, he heard someone say, “Hey, Cas. _Cas!_ ”

Castiel glanced over, helpless to ignore them the way his aunt told him to. “Yes?”

Blair grinned, elbowing Keith beside him. But then Blair’s face looked very serious and concerned, and he asked, “I don’t know if you know – m-maybe nobody told you? But, um. Someone’s stuck a sign on your back that says ‘gullible’.”

Castiel’s shoulders slumped. Not again...

“Yeah,” Keith said, with a small smirk.

Castiel grabbed his t-shirt sleeve, trying to see whatever had been attached to him.

Blair and Keith both burst out laughing, quickly followed by hoots and hollers from their friends. Dean looked around, not sure what had happened.

Finally Dean glanced at Castiel, alarmed to see tears in his eyes. Castiel looked away, glaring at his wristwatch as he pulled it on to buckle it.

“Dude,” Adrian said, pushing between Castiel’s shoulder and Dean’s. “What’s that?” He pointed into Dean’s bag.

Dean closed up the bag. “None of your beeswax, Ade.”

“Hey— Hey, guys look!” Adrian shoved his hand into Dean’s bag and yanked out something pale pink and droopy. “Dean’s got _panties_!”

Castiel’s eyes shot to Dean, watching his ears turn bright red and his cheeks flush with colour. Dean’s wet hair dribbled, and he bent his head down to quickly scrub it dry. The whole room filled with laughter and teasing questions, and Dean hid halfway under his towel, ravaging his hair with rough hands.

Adrian yanked off Dean’s towel, demanding, “So where’d you get these? You raid your mom’s underwear drawer or something?”

Dean grinned. “Nah,” he said lightly. “They’re my sister’s! I dunno how they got in here, mom must’ve put them in the wrong bag. Stupid, huh.” He laughed with the others, taking back the panties when Adrian tossed them back to him. Dean held them up and waggled them, making silly kissy-faces.

Castiel looked down at his own clothes, doing up his jeans and letting his towel drop away. He pulled his trenchcoat on, his brain full of angry bees. There was no shark in the pool. He didn’t have a sign taped on his back. And Dean didn’t _have_ a sister. Why was everyone so happy to tell lies?

He shoved his feet into his sandals and yanked his bag closed. As usual, he was the first dressed, and he stormed towards the door.

“Whoa, someone’s in a hurry,” Tody said, before sticking out his foot. Castiel stumbled right over it, hands out to hit the door at the last second. He stared at the door handle, breathing out hard as yet more laughter rang in his ears.

“Oops! So sorry!” Tody chirped. “It was an accident!”

The last thing Castiel heard was Dean’s complaint of, “Hey, Tody, you wanna know where you can put that giant foot of yours?” before he ran out, slamming the door shut behind him.

 

**………………** ◢ **………………**

 

Dean was the last to leave. He exited the pool building with his tamagotchi in one hand and his other hand around the strap of his backpack, one shoelace trailing as he walked.

He looked up towards the ball field, past the chainlink fence. The whole area was drenched in sunlight, making it obvious how badly the field was scuffed up and browned from the early summertime heat. The distant yelps and calls of boys practising their catches drifted across the school grounds, merging with the even more distant _tap-tap-boom_ s of someone having a drum lesson.

Heading towards the bleachers to meet Cas, Dean paused, looking up from his tamagotchi. He was sure he heard a sniffle...

Castiel sat hunched at the corner of the bleachers, most of him formless inside his overlarge trenchcoat, only his tanned hands showing under the sleeves. He covered his face, making soft, hurt sounds.

Dean stowed away his tamagotchi, setting the multiple piles of pixel poop out of his mind for now. “Cas?”

Castiel slapped his hands to his knees, sitting up straight. “Dean!”

Dean couldn’t bring himself to smile. “Are you crying?”

“No,” Castiel said. Then he frowned. “I mean yes. Of course I am. I don’t know why I said no.”

Dean did manage a smirk this time. He fished in his pocket for a melted Snickers bar – fun size – and handed the squishy packet over. “‘Cause everything sucks and boys are mean and you haven’t eaten since lunch, that’s why.”

Castiel hmphed. He tore the Snickers packet with two fingers and ate the chocolate whole, smearing melted residue across both cheeks. “Hm’gh and I’m ghh my’fargfhg.”

“Right? You _said_ it, dude.” Dean said, plopping himself down beside his friend on the lowest bleacher seat. He snorted. “Actually, I have no idea what you said.”

Castiel laughed, slapping a hand over his mouth before he spat out his mouthful by mistake. Snot drooled out of his nose, and with a caring “ugh,” Dean rummaged around in Castiel’s own bag and pulled out a tissue. Given Castiel was too busy chewing caramel, peanuts and nougat, Dean grinned, wiping Castiel’s face like Mom did at home.

Castiel squirmed away, taking another tissue to wipe the chocolate off his face.

“So,” Dean said, kicking his sneakers against the bench. “What’s up with you?”

Castiel shrugged, still chewing.

“Whole lotta nothing?”

Castiel gulped, hard – then sighed. “Stupid pool shark.”

Dean grinned, but it felt awkward on his face. “You gotta admit, it’s... kinda funny... right? You freak out every time before you hit the water. Watching you, it’s like— Here’s you.” He held a hand straight up, fingers together. “Whoop... whoop...” He bent it forward, ready to dive. “Shark!” He curled his hand into a ball and made a splashing sound, making his fist sink. “Bloop, bloop, bloop.”

Castiel pouted. “As soon as school cuts for summer break, they’re going to cover up the pool, lock up the building, and next year I’ll be the only one in fifth grade without my diving merit badge.”

Dean scrunched his lips to the side. Well, he wasn’t _wrong_...

“Everyone keeps telling lies,” Castiel said, scowling. “The shark. The signs on my back that aren’t really there, except when they are. You said you have a sister when you don’t. Even Mx Billie said I’ll get my badge if I try hard enough, and _evidently_ that’s not true. Aunty Amara told me it’s bad to lie, and now I’m wondering if _that’s_ even true.” He folded his arms, hunching down. His damp hair gleamed in reflected sunlight, all the dark spikes sticking out in random directions.

Dean gulped, sliding his hands under his thighs. “Maybe...” He shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe people lie for different reasons. Adrian just thinks it’s funny, right? He doesn’t even care. Blair and Keith are just shitheads. Mx Billie and your aunt think they’re right, ‘cause they’re grown-ups, and grown-ups always think they’re right even when they’re not.”

“And you?” Castiel lifted his gaze to Dean, blue eyes sparkling with curiosity and hurt. “Why did you lie and say you had a sister?”

Dean grinned nervously. “I dunno.”

A line appeared between Castiel’s eyebrows. “Was it funny? Do you believe you were right? Or are you a ‘shithead’ too?”

Dean fidgeted, fingers tugging on the strap of his bag. “Uh.”

When Castiel kept staring, waiting for an answer, Dean licked his lips and said, “You know I asked if you were crying. And you said no. Even though you were.”

Slowly, Castiel gave an unsure nod.

“Were you – scared? Like, scared or... worried, or somethin’. You didn’t want me to know you were crying. Because it was embarrassing. Or you just didn’t wanna talk about it.”

Castiel considered that, then blinked a few times. “Yes.”

Dean shrugged. “Same thing with the... the panties.” He felt heat in his cheeks again, scalding him from the inside out. “Didn’t wanna say the truth in front of those turds. Makes sense if they were my sister’s. Was easier.”

Castiel tilted his head. “But you don’t have a sister.”

“Well, _duh_! Sam would kill me if he found out I even said that. He hates when I call him Samantha as a joke, Mom said it was one of those things I’m not allowed to joke about any more.”

“So whose underwear was it?”

Dean rubbed the back of his neck, feeling all squirly and squeamish inside. “Ummm.”

“Oh,” Castiel realised. “You don’t want to say. It’s a secret?”

“Yeah.” Dean nodded. “It’s a secret.”

Immediately Castiel looked eager. “Can I know the secret? And I won’t tell anyone.”

Dean chuckled, eyes down. “Who’d you even tell, right?”

“Right.” Castiel tried to wink, but just blinked really hard. Dean tipped his head back, laughing.

Once his big ol’ grin had settled a bit, Dean chuckled. “You really promise not to say?”

“I promise.” Castiel had the world’s most trustworthy face, it was hard not to believe him.

Finally, with a smile, Dean admitted, “They’re actually... mine.”

Castiel frowned and squinted. “Yours?”

“Yep.” Dean pressed his lips together, all bunched up.

“Explain?”

“What’s to explain? I went to the store with my mom, she said pick something, and I did.” He burned inside, hot with all sorts of fiery emotions, but there were things in his mind he simply couldn’t bear to say aloud, like, ‘ _I like the little bow on the front_ ,’ or ‘ _pink’s nicer than boring old blue anyways_ ’.

“Okaaaay,” Castiel said thoughtfully. “But I actually meant that I don’t get why it’s a _secret_.”

“Because! You know why.” Dean hugged himself.

“Because... everyone would make fun of you, because it’s not the same choice they would make.” Castiel pushed his shoulder against Dean’s. “But what they say never upsets you, so why does it even matter?”

“It upsets me plenty,” Dean grumped. “I just don’t show it like you do, Cas. You’re such an easy target ‘cause you always look miserable when they psych you out. And it just makes them poke and prod you for a reaction when you act like you can’t hear them at all.

“They’re not my friends, dude. I hate their guts, every one of them, _‘specially_ ‘cause of how they treat you. But... But you can’t let it get to you. Just brush it off. Act like it’s funny, and laugh at yourself. It’s not that hard, Cas.”

“Oh!” Castiel shouted. “Yes, I’ll do _that_ next time, I’ll just _lie_ and pretend everything’s fine, when all I can feel is a big ball of achey sadness inside me, rolling around, collecting sticky goop and shadows and growing and growing and growing until I’m just a nothing-person, and I don’t care about anything, even myself, and everything is stupid and everyone is horrible and I’m going to fail swim class all because of a stupid shark that doesn’t even exist!” He folded forward, both hands over his eyes.

“Except—” He huffed. “Except I kind of wonder if it does exist. Because I’m _gullible_ , and _an easy target_ , and I have a _vivid imagination_ – and – and-andand how do you _know_ , Dean?! How do you even know there _isn’t_ a shark? Everyone knows about the shark. Maybe it’s good at disguising itself, the water moves all the time so it wouldn’t be easy to spot. The pool’s big enough for a shark. Maybe it eats food from the vending machines, like a vegetarian shark. Maybe Mx Billie looks after it so it won’t eat us. Maybe it’s a baby! That would make sense, right—?”

He seemed so pitiful now. He’d exploded with such passion and anger, and had just ended up looking worried.

“Cas,” Dean said softly, sneaking a hand over to touch Castiel’s. “I swear to you, buddy, there’s no shark in the pool.”

“But you’ve never _seen_ it, have you? You have no evidence either way.”

Dean looked down at his sneakers. “No, I don’t. But...” He trailed off, staring into nothing. Then he shook his head roughly. “Okay. That’s _it_. Come with me, Cas, I’m gonna show you something.”

“What?”

“Now!” Dean took Castiel’s hand and pulled him up. “Grab your bag.”

Castiel gathered his things. As soon as he had everything, Dean marched off back to the pool building, dragging Castiel in his wake.

 

**………………** ◢ **………………**

 

At the far end of the pool hall, behind the diving blocks, beside the rack of pool floats, there was a door in the wall. Billie usually left the door ajar when she went into the back office to work, filling out the kids’ term reports. The pool’s glass-roofed hall was so humid, it made the office steamy too, and opening the door was the only way to let the air circulate.

But it so happened that the open door allowed Billie to eavesdrop on absolutely anything in the pool room, so long as only one person spoke at once. The echoes could be dizzying, but she could just about make out the words.

Usually it was the other teachers, dropping by to flirt, gossip, or take a dip to wind down after classes ended. Today, however, Billie was surprised to hear a child’s voice. With a frown, she looked up at the clock to check the time. Almost four o’clock. No-one had extra practise scheduled today. Even so, she scrambled for her planner to make sure.

Drifting in from the pool, a familiar young voice...

“ _Take a good look, okay? Put the goggles on, and stick your head under the water. No, it won’t bite you! I promise, Cas._ ”

Billie bristled with alarm. She got up from her chair, lifting her whistle from her chest.

“ _Listen. It... It can’t come up to the edge, see! You’re fine. Just look. I’ve got a towel for when you come back up._ ”

Billie set a hand on the office door, pulling it open a few inches so she could peer out.

Dean Winchester! He stood with his shoes on, and his hands on his hips, probably leaving dried up playing-field mud on the tiles. Castiel stood beside him, looking worried, taking that funky trenchcoat off.

As his teacher, Billie knew Dean was a good student. He seemed compassionate enough, when the other boys went too far with Castiel. But there was no real way to be sure he didn’t have dark intentions here. The worst-case scenario flashed through Billie’s mind, and she worried Dean might try and do something actively malicious, like hold Castiel’s face under the water. Castiel was nothing if not trusting.

“Are you sure about this?” Castiel asked, looking pleadingly at Dean. He was down to his t-shirt now, so raggedy that it was clearly a thrift store find.

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” Dean promised. “Whatever that even means. If you get scared, just pop back up! I’ll be here. Actually – here.” He stuck out a hand. “You get a lifeline, like when divers go under. If you wanna come back up – yoink!” He tugged Castiel’s hand. “Let me know.”

Castiel hesitated, then nodded.

“Castiel, underwater shark hunter!” Dean grinned.

Castiel grinned back, then knelt down. Dean knelt with him, allowing him to reach up and adjust his goggles.

Billie considered stepping in to stop this, but both logic and a gut feeling held her back.

Castiel needed this. Billie knew as well as anyone with half a brain that the shark was just a cover. A ruse. A silly excuse the kid could believe in. A way to lie to himself, so he never had to admit he was actually scared of the water. He was scared of failure. He didn’t trust himself enough. Having failed every time, feeling like the world was against him, never awarded the chance to let the water be kind to him, he’d never learned what a good diving experience could be like.

Dean was helping.

With Dean’s luminescent green goggles sealed around his eyes, Castiel knelt at the edge of the pool, took a breath, then stuck his head under the water.

Dean stayed there, beside him, holding his hand. Billie dared not move, or breathe too loudly, unwilling to startle either of them.

Castiel turned his head, looking around the pool. He came up for air once, then lay down with his belly on the tiles, sticking his face below the surface again.

Dean waited patiently. Castiel was under for quite some time. An impressive amount of time, really.

When Castiel came up for air again, Dean asked, “See anything yet?”

“It kind of – looked like a jellyfish,” Castiel admitted, catching his breath.

“Jellyfish?”

“Or a swarm of fish.”

“A school of fish,” Dean corrected. “Bees are a swarm.”

Castiel nodded, then prepared to put his head back under.

This time, Billie slid her hand to the stopwatch hung around her chest, and hit the start button. Her eyes darted between the black numbers on the tiny green screen, rising by seconds, then back to Castiel.

Stopwatch. Castiel. Stopwatch. Castiel.

Thirty seconds.

Forty.

...Sixty.

At sixty-seven seconds, Castiel lifted his face from the water, taking an easy breath. Not a giant gulp like he was starved of oxygen, just enough to refresh himself. Billie grinned. He had Dean beat by a full fourteen seconds.

“There’s no shark,” Castiel said, lifting his torso up on his hands, turning to sit cross-legged. Dean remained kneeling, his hands empty once he’d given Castiel his towel. “There’s not even any jellyfish. _Or_ schools of fish. It’s just the sun making ripples on the bottom of the pool. And little bits of dust or something – it casts big, weird shadows.”

“It does look like a shark sometimes, though,” Dean admitted. “I mean, if you’re gonna believe someone’s made-up story, it’s kind of an easy one to believe.”

“Not really,” Castiel said, picking at his thumbnail with his head lowered. “How would a shark have gotten into the pool in the first place? We’d see its fin sticking out the water, like in _Jaws_.”

Billie rolled her eyes. No wonder they were scared of fake sharks, if they’d been watching _Jaws_.

“There’s a Zoobook about sharks in the school library,” Dean advised. “We could read it cover-to-cover like we did with the bear one. We’ll go check it out tomorrow, yeah?”

Castiel considered the idea, then nodded.

Deciding it was finally time to show herself, Billie stepped out from the office, striding alongside the pool towards the kids. “You boys all right?” she asked.

Dean startled. “We! We-we were just—” He gaped, helpless.

“Let me guess, you came in here for a little extracurricular work, tidying up the pool floats,” Billie said, smiling as she folded her arms.

“Not exactly,” Dean mumbled.

Castiel took the goggles and lifted them right off his head, leaving his hair a wet mess. “Dean was about to tell me about light refraction and how the surface tension of the water causes small objects to create large shadows. Weren’t you, Dean. We did it in science.”

Dean’s bottom lip wavered. “Yup.”

“We’re in the advanced class,” Castiel explained to Mx Billie with confidence. “We’re on a team for the Science Fair.”

Dean had turned pink. He gave a shifty-eyed smile and a fast nod. “Mm-hm!”

Billie smiled. “Sounds like you know a lot about light refraction,” she remarked to Castiel. “You’re gonna have to show me that project when it’s done.”

Castiel smiled. “Okay.”

Dean looked about ready to vacate this mortal realm. Billie grinned. “Look, unless you two are gonna change into your swim gear and do some laps, I got work to do, so if you wouldn’t mind...” She wafted both palms towards them in a shooing motion.

Dean got up quickly. “Yes ma’am! C’mon, Cas, let’s go, uh – work on that science project. Right now. At home. My mom said we could make juice popsicles.”

Castiel gave Billie a courteous smile. “Bye, Mx Billie.”

“Bye, Castiel,” Billie smiled, waving. “Bye-bye, Dean.”

Dean scampered away, reaching back only to take Castiel’s hand.

But right near the doors to the pool, he stopped. “Wait,” he said softly to Castiel. “Hang on one second.”

He returned to Billie, a great intensity in his expression.

“What can I help you with now?” Billie asked, crooking up one eyebrow.

Dean gulped, glancing at Castiel as he came up beside him.

“Mx Billie,” Dean said, “There’s something...” He nibbled on his lower lip, then released it, overcome with fresh resolve. “Cas is being bullied. And it’s not just the shark thing, it’s an everything-thing. They laugh at his coat, and they think it’s weird he only eats PB-and-J, and they say he smells even though he smells nice. And it really hurts Cas’ feelings – and it hurts my feelings too. A lot.” He really meant that part, he looked utterly heartbroken.

“Kid,” Billie sighed, crouching down so she looked up at them. “Look, I know it sucks. But I’ve already exercised the whole range of my power as a teacher to help you boys out. Aside from separate Cas from your peers entirely – and that’s an _absolute_ last resort – I can’t say there’s anything else I _can_ do. And I know for a fact my help ain’t done jack squat, except make things worse.”

“We know,” Dean said, holding Castiel’s hand tightly. “So that’s why...” He gulped. “I want to ask if we can have permission to do something. It’s not dangerous. But...” He glanced at Castiel’s confused face, then grinned down at Billie. “But maybe we can fight fire with fire. Or... y’know. Shark with shark.”

 

**………………** ◢ **………………**

 

 _Eighteenth time lucky_ , Castiel thought.

He set his toes right on the edge of the diving block, letting out a deep breath. The other boys floated in the water some distance away, hanging out at the sides of the pool, splashing around. They jeered at him lazily, masking their insults with kinder words so Mx Billie couldn’t snap at them. “ _Looking good there, Cas! You’re doing great, pumpkin!_ ”

Castiel knew they were insults, intended sarcastically. They still hurt.

“Castiel?” Mx Billie said gently.

Castiel glanced at her.

“Those boys are as meaningless to you as a swimming pool is to a shark, four hundred miles inland. Ten years from now they won’t remember your name. To them, you mean so little you may as well not exist. So there is no reason – _none_ at all – why you can’t give them the same treatment. Their words don’t exist. They don’t matter. Let them whoosh in through one ear, and float out the other. Like a – a jellyfish, how ‘bout that. Or a school of fish. Their antics are just something you observe through a glass panel at the aquarium. What matters – what’ll matter ten years from now – is the merit badge I have sitting on my desk with your name on it.”

“It has my name on it?” Castiel squinted.

“Metaphorically,” Mx Billie said. “I mean it’s meant for you.”

Castiel gulped, then nodded. “It’s for me,” he whispered under his breath.

The insufferable echoes in the pool hall made it easier to let the words drift away. Bloop, bloop, bloop. Like jellyfish. In one ear, out the other.

Castiel visualised a perfect dive.

He surveyed the pool, and saw – very far away, in the shallow end – a little shark fin, poking up out of the water. He grinned, took a deep breath, and dived.

He expected to hit the water. He expected another bellyflop, but he wasn’t afraid of it. So he did not flinch.

And when he found himself shooting down, deep underwater, more than halfway down to the bottom of the pool, he spread out his arms and legs and _marvelled_. It hadn’t hurt at all. He’d just been swallowed up by the water, smooth and sleek! A perfect dive!

From down here, in the glistening blue, he could see all the way down the pool, past the kicking legs of the other boys up above. There, in the very distance, he watched the shark approach.

With a thrilled grin, Castiel rose up to the surface. He emerged like Ariel in _The Little Mermaid_ , bursting out of the water with a storm of water behind him. He gave the most dramatic gasp, and shouted, “SHARK! SHARK!” He pointed a shaking, trembling finger down to the shallow end.

But the shark was closer now. It moved at lightning speed, much too fast to be a person in disguise. The grey fin split the water as it advanced, sloshing it out into two sleek waves.

Duh-dum.

Duh-dum.

Duh-dum-duh-dum-duh-dum-duh-dum—

The pool was in chaos already, the boys were shrieking and yelling and freaking out all over the place. Adrian leapfrogged out of the pool, legs clumsy. Keith and Blair fought each other for the ladder, while Tody and the others swam as fast as they could in every possible direction, desperately trying to avoid the shark’s approaching fin.

Meanwhile Castiel remained treading water in the deep end, a giant grin on his face. He laughed, hearing the sound echo among the screams. Mx Billie stood by, making sure nobody really hurt themselves, shaking her head and chuckling.

Soon enough, everyone was out of the water, still making worried noises, hanging around the edges of the pool and trying to peer in.

Castiel stayed where he was, filled up with delight.

At last, Dean’s head popped up from under the water and he let go of what remained in his lungs. The clamoring sound of fear in the hall was immediately replaced with a groan of resentment – and perhaps disappointment – but Castiel could only laugh.

He reached to take Dean’s goggles off for him. Dean had red rings around his eye sockets from the goggles’ pressure, and marks on his freckled nose. But his smile was a mile wide, too. He and Castiel gave each other a high-five, and kept holding on once their hands dropped into the water.

“Flippers are awesome,” Dean declared, flopping onto his back and kicking both legs into the air, spraying water in an arc. Massive grey paddles were attached to his feet, matching the too-big grey wetsuit he wore. “I’ve never swum that fast in my life. But holy _crap_ , do my legs ache now.”

“Okay, you two, you had your fun,” Mx Billie said, leaning closer with her hands on a diving block. “I need that gear back now.”

Dean gave their teacher a friendly salute, and began to swim leisurely towards the edge of the pool. He still wore his shark fin on his back, with straps like a backpack around his shoulders.

Castiel followed Dean’s lead. He knew the other boys were staring, dumbfounded, but not one single unkind shout reached his ears.

What a day! Castiel had won his merit badge, at last, _and_ made twenty boys scream like babies. And to top it all off, he got to see Dean smile like _that_.

Dean sat down on a diving block, struggling to get his flippers off. Castiel knelt, giving him a hand. They were like nasty rubbery clown shoes that _clung_ to his feet, and now Dean had a foot cramp summoned straight from hell, which was not only terrible, but also awful, and the worst ever, _seriously_.

Mx Billie called an end to the lesson – they’d saved the best for last, after all – and soon the pool hall was empty but for her, Dean, and Cas.

Dean breathed heavily. “I am in _agony_ ,” he told Mx Billie.

Mx Billie clicked her cheek against her teeth sympathetically. “If only karma worked on the right people. I told you the flippers weren’t a good idea for a first-timer.”

Dean yowled, head down against his knee.

Castiel patted his own wet thigh, then slid his hand to hold Dean’s.

Breathing hard, Dean stretched out his leg, tilting his foot towards him, then scrunched his toes up. He let out a long note of discomfort, but soon relaxed, sighing.

“Worth it,” he grinned, looking at Castiel with total adoration. “Feel better now, Cas? Now we’ve exacted revenge?”

Castiel knelt up, getting close enough to kiss Dean’s cheek. “Yes.”

Mx Billie hummed a laugh. “You two! _Honestly_. Go and get dressed now, I’ll be in my office.”

A blush had risen on both of Dean’s cheeks. “Wuh,” he said, eyes darting to Mx Billie as she walked away, then back to Castiel. “Cas... Wuh wazzat about?”

Castiel blushed right back, shy eyes lowering to his folded knees. “Dean,” he said, in a questioning tone. “I wanted to ask...” He tilted his head. “ _Do_ you want to be partners for the Science Fair? It’s just— I know we were kidding before. Lying, even. There’s no project. But—? Maybe we could make something together. Something cool.”

“About... light refraction,” Dean said slowly.

“Or sharks,” Castiel shrugged. “We could make a hologram shark.”

Dean began to smile, a crooked grin that lifted up one cheek, crinkling around his pretty green eyes. “We could join forces! Blow the whole advanced science class right outta the water.”

“Set the judges’ minds swimming,” Castiel agreed. “Drop them _straight_ in the deep end.”

“Okay, okay, I’m taking the bait,” Dean grinned, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, let’s do it.”

Castiel got to his feet, then helped Dean up too. Both riding the same wave of euphoria, they went to Mx Billie’s office and handed back the flippers and wetsuit. In exchange, Billie handed Castiel his merit badge, and he took it with great pride shining inside him. There was a little diving block embroidered on the badge – and there was pen ink on there too, which had bled into the stitching. It was not Castiel’s name. It was a drawing of a shark, leaping down into the water.

“You beat your true fears, and learned from them, Castiel,” Mx Billie said. “Congratulations. To both of you. I’m _incredibly_ proud of you.”

“Thank you,” Castiel said to her, beaming. “Y-You’re the best teacher I’ve _ever_ had.” He rushed to her arms and embraced her soft middle quickly, before stepping back, still smiling.

“Well, thank _you_.” Mx Billie’s gaze slid to Dean. “But you know what?” She smiled, her lipstick stretching out over her dark lips as she smiled. “I actually think Dean’s a pretty good teacher, too.”

 

**………………** ◢ **………………**

 

To both Dean and Cas’ great relief, everyone else was gone from the changing room once they got there. They changed together, as per usual.

Only this time, Dean didn’t hide his underwear under his towel.

“I like the bow,” he said, showing Castiel the miniature satin ribbon on the front, front-and-centre under his pudgy little tummy. He blushed, but he smiled too, shrugging. “And I like pink the best. I know it’s weird or whatever but—”

“No, it’s not.” Castiel put on his t-shirt, shrugging. “You wear the things you like, regardless of whether or not people would understand. I do that too.”

Case in point: he pulled on his trenchcoat, four sizes too big for him.

Dean’s blush settled. “Yeah.” He smiled, gazing fondly at Castiel. “Yeah, you do.”

“And I think panties look very nice on you,” Castiel said, looking Dean in the eye. “And I’m not lying when I say that, I promise.”

Dean chuckled, buttoning up his jeans. “It’s okay to lie sometimes.”

“Not about the important things,” Castiel said firmly. “In ten years’ time, nobody at school will matter. But I want _you_ to matter.” He hesitated, then leaned in and kissed Dean’s cheek for a second time. “See, like that. That’s important.” He lifted one shoulder. “Sometimes you just have to tell the truth. Even if it’s scary or weird.”

Dean stared. He lifted a slow hand to his cheek. Soft fingers dragged across the place Castiel had kissed.

Castiel picked up his bag, discarding the paper that was taped to the front, not caring to read whatever insult was scrawled on it. Those words didn’t matter. They were invisible jellyfish to him.

What mattered was this: Dean smiled.

And, ever so gently, Dean leaned in to return the kiss: there! One little peck on Castiel’s cheek. Dean giggled, looking around to see if anyone had seen, but of course, they were alone.

Castiel wondered if they might tell the whole world someday – part of him wanted to run back and tell Mx Billie _right now_ – but unless Dean felt like sharing too, this moment would remain as a special something-or-other, just between the two of them. Castiel glowed from within, so pleased he couldn’t even speak. He croaked, then laughed at the sound, fingers curled against his flushed cheeks.

With a dorky, happy smile truly lighting up his eyes, Dean took Castiel’s hand, cocked his head sideways, inviting him home for juice popsicles and a science project.

Castiel went, with his heart afloat, and his pool shark thoroughly conquered.

 

**{ fin }**

**Author's Note:**

> My thanks to Libby for un-Britishisming this fic! And my sister Amara, for bringing joy to my life on a daily basis.
> 
> And of course, thank you to _you_ , dear reader, for coming back whenever I post something new. (And for leaving kudos so I know you enjoyed whatever it is I made, and know to make more!!) ♥
> 
> Please tell me about yourself in the comments - especially about which pronouns you like to use, and your experiences with metaphorical pool sharks. c:
> 
> I have a bunch more fics coming up towards the end of 2017, so if you're not already subscribed, [please do!!](http://archiveofourown.org/users/almaasi/) So long as it doesn't get caught in your spam filter, you'll get an email when I upload two Christmas fics and a cowboy-themed one c;
> 
>      ◢ [**tumblr reblog for this fic!!**](http://almaasi.tumblr.com/post/168030718540/hey-friends-do-you-want-a-65k-fic-where-dean-and)


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